IT News for UTSA Faculty & Staff
Issue 7 Vol. 1 March 2009
Green: It's the New Orange
OIT joins campus-wide sustainability effort
Going Green is an idea that continues to gain momentum. The UTSA 2016 Plan includes a discussion of sustainability, defining it as "preserving our resources, infrastructure and heritage for future generations, while ensuring their present availability for all people."
The Office of Information Technology is doing its part to help the university reach its sustainability goals. Here are some of the ways we are working to make UTSA just a little bit greener.
Computer Network Equipment
The server virtualization project will dramatically decrease the number of servers that are defined to the network. A single server can be partitioned to allow for the installation of several applications or databases, thereby reducing equipment costs and energy usage. That also saves the university money.
Energy
OIT promotes energy savings through power management - turning off PCs and monitors when they are not in use. This idea is balanced with the need to keep personal computers turned on during the work week so that security updates are automatically installed.
Materials
Student Computing Services has instituted PrintSmart - a pay-to-print solution that has proven to save resources by requiring students to be more conscious about using their resources wisely.
Telephone Services has cut back on the need for telephone books on campus. Phone books are no longer distributed to all offices on campus - they are only distributed by request.
Also, each university-owned PC has access to the online version of the AT&T phone books.
Telephone Services is currently testing an online electronic billing solution that will eliminate the need to print and distribute copies of individual telephone bills each month.
Home Access to the UTSA Network
UTSA Webmail can be accessed from any PC with an Internet connection. This application allows users to send and receive messages and access appointment schedules.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is available for users to securely access the UTSA computer network from home. Users can access UTSA e-mail and their I: drive via the VPN.
RowdySpace, a Web-based application, provides a repository for documents and other types of files. Users can invite colleagues to view or modify documents that are housed in RowdySpace. Many departments are using RowdySpace as an alternative to printing out multiple copies of documents.
Students can access class materials (syllabus, handouts, streaming video, etc.) through WebCT, the UTSA online classroom environment. Having these materials available online reduces printing. WebCT can be accessed on a 24/7 basis by any PC with an Internet connection.
Staffing
Distance Learning and Academic Technology facilitates the use of videoconferences within the tri-campus community and with other institutions and corporations that have these capabilities. The use of videoconferencing reduces the need for travel and results in significant savings.
For additional details, please contact us at oit@utsa.edu.
OIT Staff Members Rescue "Shamu"
COE supercomputer is making a big splash
(L-R) Dr. Harry Millwater, Shamu, Dr. Yusheng Feng
It's always fun to get a new toy. But what if your new toy doesn't work?
That's the dilemma Dr. Yusheng Feng and Dr. Harry Millwater (UTSA College of Engineering) found themselves in. They had recently purchased "Shamu," a supercomputer that boasts 192 core processors.
The only problem was that the computer system was not fully installed. Oh, and a deadline for a grant proposal was quickly approaching.
Fortunately, the good doctors contacted the Office of Information Technology. John Grafton and Vince Huckaba, systems analysts from the Enterprise Systems team, responded to the call.
Grafton and Huckaba worked to get Shamu stabilized and ready for use. They helped Dr. Feng submit his National Science Foundation grant and they are assisting with the management of the system.
"John and Vince were proactive - they were always coming up with ideas, always thinking ahead," said Dr. Millwater.
Thanks to these two OIT staff members, Shamu can now be used for cancer research, robotics training and other high-performance computing projects.
To understand the power of Shamu, you can relate its composition to today's personal computers. A typical desktop PC has one, or in some cases, two processors. That means that Shamu harnesses the power equivalent to (or greater than) 192 desktop PCs.
In the past, that kind of computing power was only found in large mainframe computers that sometimes filled an entire room.
Shamu, on the other hand, fits in a single rack (a computer shelving unit).
The supercomputer is already being used by 14 graduate students for their research projects. It is being used to research aircraft structural design and it is being used in US Air Force projects. Because of its capabilities, it will continue to be in great demand.
Technical Specifications Only a Techie Could Love:
Shamu is a 24-node compute cluster...
made of up Sun Fire X 4150 servers...
that house 2 quad core 2.33 GHz Intel Xeon processors...
for a total of 192 cores.
Additionally, each node has 8GB of RAM...
4 - gigabit ethernet ports...
4 - 146GB SAS 10K RPM drives...
and a single port Mellanox ConnectX 20Gb/s Infiniband adapter...
attached to a QLogic SilverStorm Infiniband 24-port switch capable of up to 20Gb/s.
Help Desk Statistics
OIT Support Services Calls
Total handled, 2008: 35,266
Highest Call Volume (Jan): 4,375
Lowest Call Volume (Nov): 2,003
Call Volume (Jan 2009): 3,218
Call Volume (Feb 2009): 3,236
Network Accounts Created, 2008: 2,391
Highest Volume (Sep): 395
Lowest Volume (Dec): 77
Volume (Jan 2009): 261
Volume (Feb 2009): 191
Spam E-mail Statistics
UTSA receives a lot of spam. How much is a lot?
Blocked Mail (Spam, Malware, etc.)
Feb 25: 625,459
Feb 26: 597,738
Feb 27: 544,474
Feb 28: 203,451
Messages Sent to Inboxes
Feb 25: 96,117
Feb 26: 92,973
Feb 27: 64,098
Feb 28: 17,700
Approximately 87 percent of all messages were filtered by the spam filter.
New RowdySpace Debuts Week of Spring Break
A new and improved version of RowdySpace (UTSA's Web-based file-sharing and collaboration tool) is coming Spring Break 2009.
Many faculty and staff members have created accounts to take advantage of the capabilities available through RowdySpace. All faculty and staff members will be able to log in to the upgraded RowdySpace using their network ID and password.
Users are able to share files with colleagues anywhere in the world. Some offices are using RowdySpace to store documents that would normally be sent as e-mail attachments. Instead of sending multiple copies of the same file, users only need to send a "ticket" - a link to the shared file.
The upgraded RowdySpace will feature:
- a new user interface
- a new drag-and-drop upload feature
- an ability to tag files
- an internal messaging (e-mail) system
- a more user-friendly setup
For current RowdySpace users, all contacts, files and associated file properties (such as logging or versioning) will be present in their new workspace.
If you need more information, or if you are interested in scheduling a RowdySpace training session, please contact us by e-mail: oit@utsa.edu.
Microsoft E-Learning Site Supplements Technology Training 
Self-paced online training for Microsoft software products now available
Your first choice for technology training should be the UTSA Human Resources Training and Development program.
They offer a wide variety of excellent training classes, including those that involve technology.
However, if you cannot fit formal training into your schedule, you can take advantage of the Microsoft E-Learning Web site. The site features an extensive library of course modules that discuss the features of the most popular Microsoft software applications.
The Office of Information Technology has entered into an agreement that allows all students, faculty and staff members access to the Microsoft E-Learning Web site.
In order to take advantage of the E-Learning site, you must have a valid Windows Live ID. If you do not have a Windows LIve ID, you can sign up for a Hotmail account to satisfy this requirement.
For more information, visit our Microsoft E-Learning page.
Quick bytes ...
For Admin Associates: New Rules for Student/Staff, Student/Faculty Network Accounts
A change has been made to network accounts for individuals with dual roles - that is, students who are also faculty members and students who are also staff members.
These network accounts no longer have an expiration date. If an individual with one of these dual roles leaves your group or the university, you must request the network account be removed. Please contact OIT Support Services, 458-5538, for more information.
OIT Receives New Network Hardware
The OIT Enterprise Systems team has received the first shipment of network equipment that will be used to upgrade the UTSA computer network.
The Network Improvement Project is a multi-year effort that will upgrade the campus network infrastructure providing future capabilities, including an increase of bandwidth to the desktop.
This project also will provide additional functionality in support of advanced research applications.
JPL Data Center Print Services Moving to MS Student Computing Lab
As part of the Data Center renovations, printers will be moved from the JPL Data Center (JPL 1.01.16) to the MS Student Computing Lab (MS 1.03.06K).
The printers will be moved on Tuesday, March 10. Users who pick up printouts (like departmental Vacation/Sick Leave reports) in the JPL will now pick them up in the Student Lab, on the right-hand corner.
OIT Testing New Anti-spam Product
The Enterprise Systems team is currently testing the Microsoft Hosted Services anti-spam application. If testing is successful, this will replace our current anti-spam filtering software, Commtouch.
Because it is part of the Microsoft Campus License Agreement, the new software will be free.
Microsoft Hosted Services blocks e-mail messages "at the server level." Servers that are used to send spam are added to real-time block lists (RBLs), which means that any e-mail sent from those servers can be blocked before it hits our own e-mail servers. This has the potential to greatly reduce the number of spam messages that actually make it into UTSA e-mail inboxes.
More information will be provided as it becomes available.
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.